MADRAS (PTI): Hot flushes and night sweats are not the complaints of aged women alone. Aged men are also equally worrying about these symptoms connected to a similar geriatric problem of menopause in women, and are known as male menopause or ‘andropause.

While menopause, the Cessation Of menstruation and consequent depressed libido and related problems, has clearly been defined and €ven being treated by hormone Replacement therapy, andropause, 18 Still more or less a point of controversy among doctors across the world.

However, latest research in this held has succeeded in linking the problem to gradual reduction in the circulating level of male sex hormone, testosterone, in the plasma of men who have crossed 50.

Notwithstanding the controversy that whether or not all men of this age are affected, many doctors notice’ weight loss, listlessness, depressed libido and Joss of potency in most of the aged people who complain of hot flushes and night sweats, Noted Indian sexologist, Dr.R.Narayana Reddy, in a study conducted 6n about 500 healthy men aged above 50, who consulted him for sexual problems, has come out with stunning findings asserting the existence of andropause.

The doctor found that while men aged between 5059 indulged in sexual acts 10.25 times a month, the frequency had reduced to 5.69 for those between 6069 years and to 2.63 for those in the age group 7079, It was a mere 1.28 per month among those between 8083 years.

Symptoms of andropause, Dr.Reddy says, may appear to be nonspecific of an examination, but could be pinpointed as depression, severe chronic anemia and/ or malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract.

An explicit diagnosis of andropause is possible by checking the plasma testosterone level, he said in a paper presented at the first national conference on geriatrics held at Madras recently.

Subnormal plasma testosterone level, below 325 mg per 100 ml, confirms the setting in of andropause, says Dr.Reddy.

With the advent of synthetic testosterone, andropause is like just another curable disease, says Dr.C.V.Krishnan, a senior endocrinologist in a city hospital in Madras.

He says andropause can paternally be counterbalanced by providing synthetic testosterone, But for aged men with benign prostrate hyperplasia or prostate cancer, androgen therapy can be depended upon as the progesterone therapy being practiced for menopause in women, he adds.

The biggest problem of andropause is psychological since psyche is known to play a central role in sex at all ages. Worries, diseases, fatigue or pains may all distract from sex. Whether ageing as such, negatively affects the psyche with regard to sex has not yet been established, says Dr.Reddy. Although, many aged men are deprived of their chances of engaging in sex as they lose their counterparts due to natural or health reasons, social taboos play a major role in denying sex, says Dr.Reddy.

The exact age of setting in of andropause varies widely from person to person and there is no Cut off indication for it, unlike in women where the climacteric period starts with the cessation of menstruation. Andropause, unlike menopause, sets in over a period of time extending to years, he says. About the persistent libido in some aged men, he says it can only be attributed to their high enthusiasm for sex in their younger ages, With the increase in life expectancy from less than 50 years at the beginning of the century to 80 years for the average male born in 1980s, men will not be suppressed with the taboos, opines Dr.Reddy.

Whereas in 1910.only four per cent of the population was above 65 years, in 1980 it was 11% and is expected to be over 18% by 2030, With the increased share of healthy aged people in the population, aged men and their sexual problems will attract limelight in the coming years, says Dr.Pandian.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 17, 1993